Mark Anthony Selby (born 19 June 1983) is an English professional snooker player. Ranked world number one on multiple occasions, he has won a total of 25 ranking titles, placing him eighth on the all-time list of ranking tournament winners. He is a four-time World Snooker Champion, and has won the Masters and the UK Championship three times each for a total of ten Triple Crown titles, placing him behind only Ronnie OâÂÂSullivan (23), Stephen Hendry (18) and Steve Davis (15).
After winning the England Under-15 Championship in 1998, Selby turned professional in 1999, aged 16. He made his Crucible debut in 2005, and reached his first World Championship final in 2007, when he was runner-up to John Higgins. He won his first major title at the 2008 Masters, and his first ranking title at the 2008 Welsh Open. Between 2014 and 2017, he won the World Championship three times in four years. He first became world number one in September 2011, and held onto the top ranking position for just over four years between February 2015 and March 2019. He has compiled more than 900 century breaks in professional competition, including six maximum breaks, one of which is the only one to have been made during the final of the World Championships.
Selby is also an accomplished pool player. He won the WEPF World Eightball Championship in 2006 and was runner-up at the Chinese Eight-ball World Championship in 2015. With four world snooker titles and one world pool title to his name, Selby has held world champion status in two different cue sports. In December 2022, he won the Ultimate Pool Pairs Cup alongside his brother-in-law Gareth Potts.
A winner of the England under-15 championship in 1998, Selby joined the professional tour a year later in 1999, at the age of 16. In early 2002, he reached the semi-finals of the China Open, despite leaving his hotel room at 2 a.m. instead of 2 p.m. for one of his matches because of jetlag. In April 2003, aged 19, he reached his first ranking final at the Scottish Open, where he finished runner-up to David Gray, earning himself a place in the top 32 for the first time. In October 2004, he made it to the quarter-finals stage of the 2004 Grand Prix with a 5âÂÂ3 win over Peter Ebdon, but there he was whitewashed 5âÂÂ0 by Ronnie O'Sullivan, the tournament's eventual champion. Selby got to the final round of qualifying at the World Snooker Championships in 2002, 2003 and 2004, but failed to progress to the knockout stages at the Crucible Theatre on all three occasions.
From late 2005, Selby was managed by former snooker professional and fellow Leicester resident Mukesh Parmar. He progressed to the main draw of the 2005 World Championship, losing 5âÂÂ10 to John Higgins in the first round. He then faced Higgins in the first round again at the 2006 World Championship, this time defeating the reigning Grand Prix and Masters champion 10âÂÂ4, before being eliminated in the second round by Mark Williams.
Selby reached the final of the 2007 World Championship, beating Stephen Lee 10âÂÂ7 in the first round, after winning eight successive from 0âÂÂ5 behind to lead 8âÂÂ5, then defeating former world champion Peter Ebdon 13âÂÂ8 in the second round, making five centuries, with three of them being consecutive. In the quarter-finals, he beat Ali Carter 13âÂÂ12, from 11âÂÂ8 ahead and 11âÂÂ12 behind, in a match that lasted well over nine hours. Then after trailing 14âÂÂ16, he won his semi-final match 17âÂÂ16 against Shaun Murphy, in another deciding frame that he took with a 64 break. In the final, John Higgins led 12âÂÂ4 after the second session, but Selby won all six frames played in the third session on Monday afternoon, before time ran out due to the length of the frames; he was therefore only 10âÂÂ12 behind entering the final session, and closed to within one frame at 13âÂÂ14 before eventually losing the match 13âÂÂ18. Higgins pointed out in his victory speech that Selby was "the most improved player on the tour".
Selby's performance in the 2006âÂÂ07 season earned him a place in the top 16 for the first time for the 2007âÂÂ08 season, where he was ranked 11th. His victories over Lee, Ebdon, Carter and Murphy at the 2007 World Championship also won him the inaugural 888.com Silver Chip award for outstanding performance, awarded by the Snooker Writers' Association.
Next season, Selby made it to the semi-finals in the 2007 Shanghai Masters, but was defeated by Dominic Dale, who went on to win the tournament. Selby also had a strong run in the UK Championship, reaching the semi-finals as well, where he met the eventual winner of the event, Ronnie O'Sullivan. Selby led 7âÂÂ5, but fell 7âÂÂ8 behind before levelling the match at 8âÂÂ8; however, O'Sullivan made a 147 break in the deciding frame to win 9âÂÂ8.
On 20 January 2008, Selby won his first major tournament, the Masters at Wembley Arena in London. En route to the final, he had edged out Stephen Hendry, Stephen Maguire and Ken Doherty, all on a 6âÂÂ5 scoreline. In the final against Stephen Lee, Selby took control and reeled off eight consecutive frames from 2âÂÂ3 behind to lead 5âÂÂ3 at the break and to achieve a decisive 10âÂÂ3 victory. He produced a high standard of play in the final, compiling four century breaks in total; his final-frame effort, a total clearance of 141, equalled the highest break of the tournament.
Selby claimed his first world ranking title at the Welsh Open on 17 February 2008, winning a close-fought final 9âÂÂ8 against Ronnie O'Sullivan after recovering from 5âÂÂ8 behind. He also was a semi-finalist in the China Open, and a finalist in the inaugural Championship League event. However, he could not reproduce his Crucible success from the previous season; despite going into the 2008 World Championship as one of the bookmakers' favourites for the title, Selby was defeated 8âÂÂ10 in the first round by Mark King.
The following season Selby was defeated at the 2008 Shanghai Masters, once again in the semi-final stage by the event's eventual winner, this time Ricky Walden. Then at the beginning of the new year, he reached the final of the Masters again, where he was runner-up to Ronnie O'Sullivan, losing the match 8âÂÂ10 after leading 7âÂÂ5. In the Welsh Open quarter-finals he was handed a writ by a member of the audience, supposedly his former manager George Barmby. Selby commented that all he could think about was the envelope that had been given to him before he was defeated 3âÂÂ5 by Anthony Hamilton. Later on in the season, he made it to the final once more in the 2009 Championship League, and also reached the quarter-finals of the 2009 World Championship, losing 12âÂÂ13 to John Higgins, who went on to win his third world title.
Selby recovered from 4âÂÂ8 behind to beat Jamie Cope 9âÂÂ8 in the first round of the 2009 UK Championship, but was beaten in the quarter-finals 3âÂÂ9, yet again by Ronnie O'Sullivan. On 17 January 2010, having reached the final for the third time in as many years, he won his second Masters title, in a repeat of the previous year's final where he had lost to O'Sullivan. This time, after falling behind 6âÂÂ9, with O'Sullivan needing one more frame for another victory, Selby took the next four frames to win the championship 10âÂÂ9. He came within reach of his second World Championship final in 2010, losing in the semi-finals 14âÂÂ17 to Graeme Dott, despite pulling up to 10âÂÂ11 and 13âÂÂ14.
In July 2010, Selby won the Six-red World Championship in Bangkok, with an 8âÂÂ6 victory over Ricky Walden in the final. At the 2011 China Open, he beat Tian Pengfei, Robert Milkins, Ali Carter, and home favourite Ding Junhui, but was defeated 8âÂÂ10 by Judd Trump in the final. At the 2011 World Championship, he set the record for the most century breaks compiled in a world championship match when he made six in his second-round tie with Stephen Hendry. This was also a record for a best-of-25-frames match, and took Selby's century tally for the season to 54, setting a new record for the most centuries compiled by one player in a single season.
Selby started the season by winning the non-ranking Wuxi Classic with a 9âÂÂ7 victory over Ali Carter. He won his second ranking event at the Shanghai Masters, where he defeated Mark Williams 10âÂÂ9 in the final, winning the last three frames from 7âÂÂ9 behind. With this victory, Selby replaced Williams as world number one, moving to the top of the world rankings for the first time in his career.
He also won the minor-ranking PTC Event 4 (the 2011 edition of the Paul Hunter Classic); having edged out Ronnie O'Sullivan 4âÂÂ3 in the semi-finals, he achieved a 4âÂÂ0 whitewash over Mark Davis in the final. Selby eventually finished fifth on the PTC Order of Merit and therefore qualified to the last 16 of the PTC Grand Final. He beat Ding Junhui 4âÂÂ1, before losing 0âÂÂ4 to eventual winner Stephen Lee in the quarter-finals.
Selby progressed to the quarter-finals of the Masters in January, where he lost 2âÂÂ6 to Shaun Murphy. He was defeated by Murphy again the following month, in the quarter-finals of the German Masters, losing the match 3âÂÂ5. After reaching the final of the Welsh Open, where he lost 6âÂÂ9 to Ding, he met Murphy for the third time in less than six weeks, in the quarter-finals of the World Open, this time achieving a 5âÂÂ0 whitewash. However, he then suffered a 5âÂÂ6 semi-final defeat against Mark Allen, despite having built up a 5âÂÂ2 lead.
Selby withdrew from the second round of the China Open because of a neck injury. His decision to withdraw was also a precautionary measure to make sure he was ready for the upcoming World Championship. He played Barry Hawkins in the first round and was defeated 3âÂÂ10. After the match, Selby admitted that he had only managed nine hours of practice in preparation for the tournament, and there were certain shots that he was physically unable to play. Despite this disappointment, he finished the season still as world number one.
Selby announced he felt "90 per cent fit" just before the start of the season, as he continued his recovery from the disc bulge in his neck. His first event was the Wuxi Classic where he played Barry Hawkins in the last 32; having been eliminated from the World Championship by Hawkins two months earlier, Selby this time won 5âÂÂ2, and then whitewashed Jamie Cope 5âÂÂ0 to set up a quarter-final match with in-form Stuart Bingham, but lost in the deciding frame 4âÂÂ5. He won seven matches in a row to reach the quarter-finals of the Six-red World Championship, where he was defeated 5âÂÂ7 by Judd Trump. He then suffered a shock 3âÂÂ5 first-round defeat to Jamie Burnett in the Australian Goldfields Open.
Selby lost his world number one ranking on 2 November 2012, when Trump claimed the top spot by reaching the final of the inaugural International Championship in China. However, just five weeks later, Selby regained the top ranking position by winning the UK Championship, for his third ranking title and most significant of his career to that date. He defeated Michael White 6âÂÂ3, Ryan Day 6âÂÂ4 after trailing 0âÂÂ3, and Neil Robertson 6âÂÂ4 from 0âÂÂ4 behind, to reach the semi-finals. He then defeated Mark Davis 9âÂÂ4 to progress to the final, where he beat Shaun Murphy 10âÂÂ6 to win the tournament.
Selby also participated at the Players Tour Championship. He successfully defended his Paul Hunter Classic title with a 4âÂÂ1 win over Joe Swail in the final. He then lost in the final of the Antwerp Open 1âÂÂ4 against Mark Allen, and won the Munich Open by defeating Graeme Dott 3âÂÂ4 in the final. He then finished number one on the Order of Merit, and qualified for the Finals, where he lost 3âÂÂ4 against Jack Lisowski.
Selby then won his third Masters title, beating Stuart Bingham 6âÂÂ5 from 1âÂÂ5 behind in the first round, Mark Williams 6âÂÂ1 in the quarter-finals, and Graeme Dott 6âÂÂ5 from 1âÂÂ4 behind in the semi-finals. He then defeated defending champion Neil Robertson 10âÂÂ6 in the final. He reached the quarter-finals of the German Masters, but lost 1âÂÂ5 against Barry Hawkins. He lost in the last 32 of the Welsh Open 0âÂÂ4 against Joe Perry, and lost his number one position to Judd Trump. Selby then reached the quarter-finals of the World Open, but lost 3âÂÂ5 against Neil Robertson.
At the China Open, Selby became the fourth player in history to miss the final black on a 147 attempt, and only the second â after Ken Doherty â to do so in a televised match, in a 5âÂÂ1 defeat of Mark King. He then reached the final by defeating Ricky Walden 5âÂÂ2, Mark Williams 5âÂÂ1 and Shaun Murphy 6âÂÂ2, but lost 6âÂÂ10 against Neil Robertson. After the event he regained the number one spot from Judd Trump. He finished off the season at the World Championship, where he beat Matthew Selt 10âÂÂ4 in the first round, before losing 10âÂÂ13 to Barry Hawkins in the second round.
In the first ranking event of the season, Selby suffered a 3âÂÂ5 defeat to Andrew Pagett in the qualifying rounds of the Wuxi Classic in China. The tournament was the first to use a new format requiring the top 16 players to compete in the qualifying rounds at most ranking events. In minor-ranking tournaments, he was runner-up at the Yixing Open, losing 1âÂÂ4 to Joe Perry, and at the Rotterdam Open, where he lost 3âÂÂ4 to Mark Williams. He won the Antwerp Open in November, defeating Ronnie O'Sullivan 4âÂÂ3 in the final.
Having won the UK Championship and Masters in the previous season, Selby qualified to take part in the first edition of the revived Champion of Champions competition, where he lost to Stuart Bingham in the semi-finals 4âÂÂ6. Defending his title at the UK Championship in December, Selby compiled snooker's 100th officially recognised maximum break in professional competition, in the seventh frame of his semi-final against Ricky Walden. He received ã55,000 for the achievement, in addition to the tournament's highest break prize of ã4,000. The next day, he lost 7âÂÂ10 to world number one Neil Robertson in the final, having been ahead 5âÂÂ1 and 6âÂÂ3, missing his chance to regain the top position in the world rankings.
He began the defence of his title at the Masters by defeating Mark Davis in the first round and John Higgins in the quarter-finals, winning both matches 6âÂÂ5 and extending his unbeaten record in deciding frames at the Masters to 11. He then beat Shaun Murphy 6âÂÂ1 in the semi-finals to reach the final against Ronnie O'Sullivan. After falling behind 1âÂÂ7 in the first session, Selby lost the final 4âÂÂ10, receiving the runner-up prize of ã90,000. At the German Masters two weeks later, he was eliminated in the second round by Kurt Maflin 5âÂÂ3. He defeated Alan McManus 5âÂÂ1 in the quarter-finals of the World Open, and Marco Fu 6âÂÂ4 in the semi-finals, but lost 6âÂÂ10 in the final to Shaun Murphy.
At the World Championship, Selby defeated Michael White 10âÂÂ9, Ali Carter 13âÂÂ9, and Alan McManus 13âÂÂ5 to reach his first semi-final at the Crucible since 2010, where he met Neil Robertson in a repeat of the UK Championship final five months earlier. This time Selby achieved a 17âÂÂ15 victory to reach his second World Championship final and first for seven years. His opponent in the final was defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, who had held the world title for the past two years and had won all five of his previous world finals. Selby appeared "jaded" on the first day after a tough semi-final battle with Robertson the day before. O'Sullivan led 3âÂÂ0, 8âÂÂ3, and 10âÂÂ5, but Selby then won six frames in a row to lead for the first time, eventually sealing an 18âÂÂ14 victory for his first world title. He dedicated the win to his late father who had died when Selby was 16. With his World Championship victory, Selby became the ninth player to win snooker's Triple Crown of World, UK and Masters titles; he also returned to the world number one position.
At the first ranking event of the season, the Wuxi Classic, Selby lost 3âÂÂ5 to Liang Wenbo in the last 32. He won the minor-ranking Riga Open in August, defeating Mark Allen 4âÂÂ3 in the final, but was defeated by Allen the following month in a final-frame in the semi-finals of the ranking Shanghai Masters tournament. He made an unexpected early exit from the ranking International Championship, when he was eliminated in the last 128 by 19-year-old tour rookie Oliver Lines, who had recovered from 0âÂÂ4 behind to defeat him 6âÂÂ4. Selby reached the quarter-finals of the invitational Champion of Champions tournament in November, but lost 1âÂÂ6 against Judd Trump. He had a disappointing run at the UK Championship, losing 4âÂÂ6 to David Morris in the last 64.
In his first-round encounter with Shaun Murphy at the Masters in January, Selby fell 1âÂÂ5 behind before recovering to draw level at 5âÂÂ5, but then lost the match in the deciding frame. This was the first time he had ever lost a deciding frame at the Masters, having won the match 6âÂÂ5 on all 11 previous occasions. The following month, Selby won his fifth ranking title at the German Masters. He defeated Judd Trump 5âÂÂ4 in the quarter-finals, despite Trump making his second career 147 in the fifth frame of the match; this was the fifth time that Selby had witnessed an opponent completing a maximum against him (including both of Trump's), the most witnessed by any player. In the final, he came from 2âÂÂ5 down against Shaun Murphy to win 9âÂÂ7 and claim the title.
At the China Open in April, Selby became the first player to win a second ranking title in the 2014âÂÂ15 season; after advancing to the final without meeting any player inside the world's top 16, he outplayed world number 56 Gary Wilson to win 10âÂÂ2. He then began his title defence at the World Championship, with no first-time world champion having successfully defended the title the following year, and no winner of the China Open having won the World Championship in the same season. He led Kurt Maflin 8âÂÂ4 in the first round, before Maflin won the next five frames to lead 9âÂÂ8, but Selby took the 18th frame and the decider to win the match 10âÂÂ9. His reign as World Champion ended in the second round, however, with a 9âÂÂ13 defeat to Anthony McGill. Despite this setback, he finished the season as world number one for the fourth year running.
At the 2015 International Championship, Selby reached the semi-finals but then lost 4âÂÂ9 to John Higgins. He did not drop a frame in reaching the third round of the UK Championship where he defeated Jamie Jones 6âÂÂ5, later acknowledging that his opponent had deserved to win the match. He then eliminated Dechawat Poomjaeng and Matthew Selt both 6âÂÂ1, before being whitewashed 6âÂÂ0 by Neil Robertson in the semi-finals. In early 2016, Selby lost to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals of both the Masters and Welsh Open, but won the Gdynia Open with a 4âÂÂ1 victory over Martin Gould.
In March, he withdrew from the PTC Finals and China Open for personal reasons. Returning to the tour at the World Championship in April, he beat Robert Milkins 10âÂÂ6, Sam Baird 13âÂÂ11, and Kyren Wilson 13âÂÂ8, to face Marco Fu in the semi-finals. Selby drew level at 12âÂÂ12 after winning a 76-minute frame, the longest in Crucible history, and won the match 17âÂÂ15 with a successful on the in the final frame. He took an early 6âÂÂ0 lead over Ding Junhui in the final, eventually winning the match 18âÂÂ14 to claim his second world title. With his World Championship victory, Selby finished at number one in the world rankings for the fifth consecutive year.
Selby won his first ranking title of the season at the Paul Hunter Classic, beating Tom Ford 4âÂÂ2 in the final. His semi-final against Stuart Bingham at the Shanghai Masters in September, was a meeting between the top-two ranked players in the world, Selby winning 6âÂÂ5, having trailed 3âÂÂ5. After taking an early 3âÂÂ1 advantage over Ding Junhui in the final, he eventually lost the match 6âÂÂ10. The following month, he was defeated 2âÂÂ6 by Judd Trump in the semi-finals of the European Masters. He then won 9âÂÂ3 in another semi-final encounter with Bingham, to reach the final of the International Championship in Daqing, China, winning the event for the first time by overcoming Ding 10âÂÂ1; Selby dominated their encounter, winning all of the last seven frames, in the most one-sided ranking event final since the 2012 World Open when Mark Allen had defeated Stephen Lee by the same scoreline. Selby made seven 50+ breaks, while Ding's highest was just 47.
At the UK Championship, he defeated John Higgins 6âÂÂ5 in a high-quality quarter-final match that lasted five hours; Selby won on the colours in the deciding frame. After despatching Shaun Murphy 6âÂÂ2 in the semi-finals, he developed a 7âÂÂ2 advantage over Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final of the event, which decreased to 7âÂÂ4, followed by four breaks of 130 or more over the next five framesâÂÂtwo by each playerâÂÂbringing the score to 9âÂÂ7 in Selby's favour. He finished the match with a 107 break to claim his second UK title, completing the second Triple Crown of his career. After failing to progress to the semi-final stage of any of the next seven tournaments, he made it through to the final of the China Open in April, where he took the final three frames against Mark Williams to win 10âÂÂ8 and claim his fourth ranking title of the season.
In the quarter-finals of the World Championship, he defeated Marco Fu 13âÂÂ3 with a . He faced Ding Junhui in the semi-finals, taking a 16âÂÂ13 lead before Ding closed the gap to 15âÂÂ16 behind; Selby then won the 32nd frame to reach his third world final in four years. In a repeat of the 2007 final against John Higgins, which Selby had lost 13âÂÂ18, he fell behind 4âÂÂ10 before recovering to win 12 of the next 14 frames, eventually closing out the match 18âÂÂ15 to win his third World Championship, becoming the fourth playerâÂÂafter Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'SullivanâÂÂto retain the world title at the Crucible. This was Selby's fifth ranking title of the season, tying him with Hendry and Ding as the only players to have won five ranking events in a single season. Selby earned ã932,000 during the 2016âÂÂ17 season, a record amount of prize money for any one season.
In the 2017âÂÂ18 snooker season, Selby was eliminated in the first round of the Hong Kong Masters after a 3âÂÂ5 defeat to eventual champion Neil Robertson. His first ranking tournament of the season was the China Championship where he was defeated 4âÂÂ5 by Zhou Yuelong in the second round. He failed to progress past the fourth round of the Paul Hunter Classic in defence of his title, losing 1âÂÂ4 to eventual champion Michael White. He was defeated 2âÂÂ5 by Lee Walker in the first round of the World Open, followed by a 2âÂÂ4 defeat to Stuart Bingham in the quarter-finals of the European Masters, and a third round exit at the English Open where he lost 1âÂÂ4 to Xiao Guodong.
Selby successfully defended his International Championship title in November, to claim his first ranking title of the season. After surviving a fightback from Mark Allen, who trailed 3âÂÂ8 and 7âÂÂ9 in the final, Selby prevailed 10âÂÂ7. As reigning World Snooker Champion, he qualified automatically for the 2017 Champion of Champions, but was defeated 4âÂÂ6 in the quarter-finals by Luca Brecel. Defending his title at the UK Championship, he was eliminated 3âÂÂ6 by Scott Donaldson in the last 64.
In January, he played Mark Williams in the first round of the Masters, in a repeat of the previous year's event, where Selby had won their first-round encounter 6âÂÂ5. However, this time the finishing score line was reversed as Selby lost the deciding frame 5âÂÂ6. He retained his China Open championship in April, defeating Barry Hawkins 11âÂÂ3 in the final. This was Selby's third China Open title in four years. Later that month, his two-year reign as World Champion ended in the first round of the World Championship, where he fell to Joe Perry 4âÂÂ10, unable to recover from a 2âÂÂ7 deficit in the first session. In winning the match, Perry became the first player to beat Selby at the World Championship since Anthony McGill had defeated him in the second round in 2015. Despite this disappointment, Selby still finished the season as world number one.
At the World Open in August, Selby lost 4âÂÂ5 to world number 53 Noppon Saengkham in the last 16, losing the deciding frame by just three points. He won his 15th ranking title at the China Championship in September, defeating John Higgins 10âÂÂ9 in a very close-fought final. He reached the semi-finals of the Northern Ireland Open in November, losing 5âÂÂ6 to Ronnie O'Sullivan on the final black. He faced disappointments in other tournaments too, including an unexpected 3âÂÂ6 loss to amateur James Cahill in the first round of the UK Championship. At the 2019 Masters, he lost 2âÂÂ6 to Judd Trump in a "nervy" quarter-final, despite making a 110 break in the seventh frame of the match.
Selby lost the top ranking position to Ronnie O'Sullivan on 24 March 2019, having been world number one since February 2015. O'Sullivan reclaimed the top spot by winning his 36th ranking title at the Tour Championship; Selby had himself been eliminated in the first round by Neil Robertson in a final-frame decider, after squandering a four-frame lead. He had an opportunity to regain the top spot at the China Open less than two weeks later, but lost 3âÂÂ6 to Craig Steadman in the qualifying round which had been held over from the original qualification stage in February. At the World Championship, Selby beat Zhao Xintong 10âÂÂ7 in the first round before being defeated 10âÂÂ13 by Gary Wilson in the second round. As a result of this mediocre performance, he ended the season as world number six, having also been outranked by John Higgins, Neil Robertson, Mark Williams and Judd Trump.
In the 2019âÂÂ20 season, Selby reached the semi-finals of the International Championship, losing 4âÂÂ9 to Judd Trump, and in defending his title at the China Championship, he lost 3âÂÂ6 to Shaun Murphy, again in the semi-finals. He defeated David Gilbert 9âÂÂ1 in the final to win the English Open. The following week, he lost 2âÂÂ5 to Stuart Bingham in the last 16 of the World Open. In the Champion of Champions, he fell short 2âÂÂ6 to Mark Allen in the group final. Despite recovering from 1âÂÂ4 behind to tie at 4âÂÂ4, he was defeated in the quarter-finals of the Northern Ireland Open by John Higgins. He took more than six minutes to play one of his shots in the seventh frame of this match, leading to criticism from the Eurosport commentator Neal Foulds. He won the Scottish Open in December, beating Jack Lisowski 9âÂÂ6 in the final. Having also won the English Open earlier in the season, he became the first player to win more than one tournament in the Home Nations Series in a single season.
At the beginning of 2020, he lost in the first round of the Masters against Ali Carter in January, and failed to qualify at the German Masters later the same month. At the European Masters, he lost in the second round to Barry Hawkins; after losing the first four frames, he staged a comeback to level at 4âÂÂ4 but then lost the deciding frame. He qualified for the World Grand Prix, where he lost 3âÂÂ4 to Xiao Guodong in the first round despite making two centuries. In February, Selby reached the quarter-final stage of the last Home Nations event, the Welsh Open, where he was defeated 1âÂÂ5 by Ronnie O'Sullivan. He also qualified for the Players Championship, based on the one-year ranking list; in the first round, he whitewashed Mark Williams 6âÂÂ0, but was then knocked out in the quarter-finals by Stephen Maguire in a deciding frame 5âÂÂ6. In March, he also participated at the Gibraltar Open, but was eliminated in the third round by Lyu Haotian 1âÂÂ4.
After the prolonged break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Selby participated in the 2020 Championship League, going out of the tournament after the first group stage. He qualified for the 2020 Tour Championship ranked third on the one-year ranking list. He beat Yan Bingtao 9âÂÂ6 in the quarter-finals before being defeated 2âÂÂ9 by Mark Allen in the semi-finals. At the World Championship, Selby defeated debutant Jordan Brown 10âÂÂ6 in the first round, Noppon Saengkham 13âÂÂ12 in the last 16, and Neil Robertson 13âÂÂ7 in the quarter-finals. In the semi-final, he met Ronnie O'Sullivan, who took a 5âÂÂ3 lead after the first session, but Selby won the second session to take a 9âÂÂ7 lead. During the third session, he established a 13âÂÂ9 advantage before O'Sullivan won the last two frames of the session. Selby then took a 16âÂÂ14 lead, leaving himself one frame away from his fifth World Championship final, but he lost the final three frames of the match. After the game, Selby accused his opponent of being "disrespectful" after O'Sullivan had played several hit-and-hope shots while being snookered. Selby finished the season as world number four.
After the delayed start to the new season, Selby won his 18th ranking title at the 2020 European Masters in September, defeating Martin Gould 9âÂÂ8 in the final. The score was level at 4âÂÂ4 by the end of the afternoon session, despite Selby taking an early 4âÂÂ0 lead. The two players were evenly matched throughout the evening session, but Selby eventually won the match in the deciding final frame with a break of 72. The win moved him to a joint sixth place, alongside Neil Robertson, on the list of players with the most world ranking titles.
In October, he began the defence of his title at the 2020 English Open. After defeating Fan Zhengyi, Chang Bingyu, Liang Wenbo, Hossein Vafaei and Zhou Yuelong, he lost 5âÂÂ6 to Neil Robertson in the semi-finals. Despite losing the title, Selby retained the number one spot in the one-year ranking list. He also progressed through the first two group stages of the ranking Championship League tournament, but in the third group stage, although he beat Judd Trump 3âÂÂ0, he lost 1âÂÂ3 to Zhou Yuelong and 0âÂÂ3 to Zhao Xintong, finishing at the bottom of the group.
At the 2020 Champion of Champions tournament in November, Selby recovered from 0âÂÂ4 and 3âÂÂ5 behind, winning the last three frames of his quarter-final match against Kyren Wilson to progress 6âÂÂ5, only to be defeated by Neil Robertson in another final-frame decider at the semi-final stage of the competition. In December, after yet another loss to Robertson at the quarter-finals of the 2020 UK Championship, Selby successfully defended his Scottish Open title, beating Yuan Sijun, Nigel Bond, Mark Joyce, Lyu Haotian, Ricky Walden and Jamie Jones to reach the final, then defeating Ronnie O'Sullivan 9âÂÂ3 to claim his 19th ranking tournament win, and his third Home Nations Series trophy, becoming the second player, after Judd Trump, to win three Home Nations events. The following week, he reached the semi-finals of the 2020 World Grand Prix, where he was defeated 4âÂÂ6 by Jack Lisowski, despite compiling the highest break of the tournament, a 143 in the seventh frame of the match.
Selby reached the final of the 2021 Snooker Shoot Out in February, but his early 24-point lead was eclipsed by Ryan Day's 67-point winning break in the last four minutes of the match. Though he was aiming to secure a record 12th successive ranking final win at the event, Selby expressed doubts whether the Shoot Out should be classed as a ranking event. Afterwards, he exited both the Welsh Open and the Players Championship at the quarter-final stage, then the 2021 Tour Championship with one more semi-final defeat by Neil Robertson, repeating his last year results for all three events.
Selby won his fourth world title in May 2021, defeating Shaun Murphy 18âÂÂ15 in the final of the 2021 World Championship in front of a capacity crowd at the Crucible Theatre. He became one of only five players to have won the championship four or more times at the Crucible, and said in his post-match interview: "to win it four times is something I could only have dreamed of."
In contrast with his last two snooker years, this was a poor season for Selby. His first tournament was the 2021 British Open. He was defeated in the second round, but returned to the top of the rankings for the first time since March 2019. After that, he suffered many early round exits, failed to qualify for tournaments or has withdrawn from them. Selby said that snooker seemed "irrelevant right now" to him, as he spoke about his struggles with depression that was affecting his life and snooker form. He reached the semi-finals of the 2021 World Grand Prix in December though, but after levelling the match at 2âÂÂ2, he was defeated 3âÂÂ6 by Neil Robertson. The only other highlights of the season were his quarter-final appearances at the 2021 Champion of Champions, where he made his 700th century break in his opening match against David Gilbert, becoming the sixth player to reach that milestone, and the 2022 Masters, where Selby avenged his 6âÂÂ3 loss to Stephen Maguire from last year's tournament by beating the Scotsman by the exact same scoreline, but then he suffered a 6âÂÂ1 defeat by Barry Hawkins.
Compared to his last season performance, Selby's form had improved, as he was in the final of the 2022 World Mixed Doubles, teamed up with Rebecca Kenna, though they ended up losing 2âÂÂ4 to Neil Robertson and Mink Nutcharut; then he reached the quarter-finals of the British, the Northern Ireland and the Scottish Open, and the semi-finals of the 2022 Champion of Champions. After that, he went on and became the first player to win the English Open for the second time, claiming his first ranking trophy since his World Championship win in 2021, and becoming the second player, after Judd Trump, to win four Home Nations tournaments. In the semi-final of the tournament, he also recorded his first win over Neil Robertson in two years, after seven consecutive losses to him, including this year's Northern Ireland and Scottish Open defeats. Towards the end of the season, Selby also won the inaugural 2023 WST Classic tournament, beating Pang Junxu 6âÂÂ2 in the final. In the next event, the 2023 Tour Championship, he made it to the semi-final, losing 9âÂÂ10 to Shaun Murphy, forcing a decider after being 6âÂÂ9 down.
At the 2023 World Snooker Championship, Selby defeated Mark Allen 17âÂÂ15 in a semi-final that lasted for over hours in total, with the final session ending at 12:48 a.m. In frame 16 of the final against Luca Brecel, Selby scored a maximum break, his first maximum at the Crucible, and the first ever compiled in a World Championship final. Trailing 16âÂÂ10 at one point, Selby managed to close the gap to 16âÂÂ15; however Brecel won the following two frames to win 18âÂÂ15.
At the start of the season, Selby was a semi-finalist in the 2023 European Masters and the 2023 Shanghai Masters, losing 4âÂÂ6 to Barry Hawkins in the former, and 7âÂÂ10 to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the latter tournament. Then he reached the final of the 2023 British Open, facing Mark Williams and eventually losing to him 10âÂÂ7, despite coming back from 5âÂÂ1 down to 8âÂÂ7 throughout the match. Going that far in the tournament took its toll, as in the next event, the 2023 English Open, Selby won his held-over qualifying match, but then he lost 4âÂÂ2 to world number 104 Martin O'Donnell in the last 64, having played nine matches in nine days altogether. He also exited in the last 64 round at the following 2023 Wuhan Open, losing 4âÂÂ5 to Xu Si. His last notable result for the calendar year was reaching the quarter-finals of the 2023 UK Championship, where he lost 3âÂÂ6 to Judd Trump.
During the first half of the season, Selby has missed out on the 2023 Northern Ireland Open, as heâÂÂalong with Ali Carter, John Higgins, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and reigning world champion Luca BrecelâÂÂopted not to enter, so he could play at an exhibition event in Macau, China instead, originally scheduled to take place from 27 to 29 October. The World Snooker Tour threatened the five players with disciplinary action, claiming that playing at an unsanctioned event in Macau rather than at an official tour event in Belfast would breach their players' contract. Following negotiations, the Macau exhibition was rescheduled to be played from 22 to 24 December, and the WST granted the concerned players permission to participate; however, they remained absent from the Belfast tournament, as they had not entered it. Selby won the Macau event, defeating Carter 6âÂÂ3 in the final, and he also made a maximum break in his semi-final match against Higgins.
In January, Selby exited both the 2024 Masters and the 2024 World Grand Prix at the quarter-finals stage, losing 5âÂÂ6 to Mark Allen in the former, and 1âÂÂ5 to Judd Trump in the latter tournament. Then, in his qualifying match for the 2024 World Open against Xing Zihao, he compiled the 800th century of his professional career. At the end of February, he made it to the semi-final of the 2024 Players Championship with a 6âÂÂ0 whitewash over Ronnie O'Sullivan, but there he got edged out 5âÂÂ6 by Zhang Anda. In the next event, the 2024 World Masters of Snooker, he was a quarter-finalist, but suffered a 3âÂÂ4 loss to Mark Allen after leading 3âÂÂ1, but spoiling his match-winning chances by missing the black off its spot twice in the next two frames. The following week, Selby won the 2024 Championship League by defeating Joe O'Connor 3âÂÂ1, lifting his first trophy of the season, almost a year after his last tour event success. Later on, he participated in the 2024 World Mixed Doubles, replacing Mark Allen, who withdrew. Selby was once again paired with Rebecca Kenna, and as in 2022, they were the runner-ups, losing 2âÂÂ4 again to Luca Brecel and Reanne Evans in the final. Selby's season ended in the first round of the 2024 World Snooker Championship as he faced Joe O'Connor again and was defeated 6âÂÂ10 by him. After the loss, Selby considered that he might retire from snooker.
In September, Selby reached the quarter-finals at the English Open, where he suffered a shock 4âÂÂ5 loss to world number 77 Ishpreet Singh Chadha. The following week, he won the British Open, defeating John Higgins 10âÂÂ5 in the final to claim his first ranking tournament title since March 2023.
Selby defeated Stephen Maguire 96 to win the Welsh Open in February. It was the second time he had taken the title, having previously been champion in 2008. It was also his 24th ranking event title. Selby reached the final of the 2025 Tour Championship, where despite holding an 85 lead against John Higgins, he eventually lost 810. Selby suffered a first round exit at the 2025 World Championship, after he was defeated 810 by Ben Woollaston.
In November, Selby won the Champion of Champions for the first time. Held in his hometown of Leicester, he overcame Judd Trump 10âÂÂ5 in the final. A month later, Selby won the UK Championship for the third time, defeating Trump 10âÂÂ8 in the final. His tenth triple crown title moved him ahead of John Higgins into fourth place for career victories in triple crown events. The following month, at the 2026 Masters, Selby exited in the first round after a defeat to Xiao Guodong. In February, he was triumphant at the invitational Championship League after defeating Wu Yize 3âÂÂ1 in the final. It was his third consecutive overall victory in the event.
Born in Leicester on 19 June 1983, Selby began playing pool at the age of eight and snooker aged nine. Malcolm Thorne, brother of Leicester-born snooker player Willie Thorne, spotted Selby's snooker ability and offered him free practice at his brother's snooker club, which Selby took full advantage of, practising in the evenings after school. Abandoned by his mother at the age of eight, Selby lost his father to cancer when he was 16, after which he lived with family friend and snooker coach, Alan Perkins. He contemplated suicide after his father's death, but Perkins encouraged him to devote himself to snooker, telling him his father would have wanted him to keep playing and trying his best. Two months later, Selby joined the main professional tour, having left school with no qualifications. His nickname, "The Jester from Leicester", was given to him by snooker compere Richard Beare because Selby liked to have "a laugh and a joke" with him.
Selby's wife Vikki Layton, who often attends his major matches, is a former Irish international pool player born in Ipswich. They began dating in 2006 after meeting on the professional circuit. They became engaged in August 2010 after Selby proposed on a gondola in Venice, and were married in Cancún, Mexico in May 2011. They have one daughter who was born in 2014.
Selby has been a fan of Leicester City F.C. since childhood. His 2014 World Championship victory happened on the day that Leicester City celebrated their promotion to the Premier League with an open-top bus parade. Two years later, he won his second world title just 13 minutes after the team sealed their first Premier League title. Selby is also a fan of darts and has played in exhibition matches at Ibstock in Leicestershire, beating Eric Bristow in 2007 and taking on Raymond van Barneveld in 2009.
Selby was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to snooker and charity.
Below is a list of competition results for professional seasons starting from 1999. <div style="width:auto; overflow:scroll">
</div>
Below is a list of professional finals played by Selby.
As well as being a professional snooker player, Selby is also adept at playing pool, specifically blackball (also known as English eight-ball) and Chinese eight-ball. In June 2006, he won the WEPF World Eightball Championship at the Norbreck Castle Hotel in Blackpool, beating Chris Melling 10âÂÂ5 in the semi-finals and Darren Appleton 11âÂÂ7 in the final.
In February 2015, Selby was runner-up at the inaugural Chinese Eight-ball World Championship in Yushan, China. Having defeated Liu Haitao 15âÂÂ13 in the semi-finals, he lost 19âÂÂ21 to Appleton in the final. Selby had edged into the lead, 19âÂÂ18, before Appleton won three consecutive to cross the finishing line.
Selby entered the Ultimate Pool Pairs Cup in 2022, teaming up with his brother-in-law Gareth Potts. Dubbed "The Dream Team", Selby and Potts won the tournament after defeating the defending champions Karl Sutton and Shaun Chipperfield in the final, played on 19 December 2022. Having claimed snooker's English Open title the previous evening, Selby had won two live televised tournaments in two days in two different cue sports.